The Bangladesh Cricket Board has announced three significant appointments in various roles, which have frequently been the subject of considerable discussion and scrutiny, following their board meeting at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Saturday night.
Former head of ICC鈥檚 Anti-Corruption Unit Alex Marshall has been roped in for a one-year contract, while Julian Wood has been appointed as the specialist batting coach of the men鈥檚 national team.
Tony Hemming, the Australian curator who had previously worked for the BCB, returned to a different role as head of turf management. It was all but confirmed that the BCB was set to part ways with Gamini De Silva, the longstanding head curator of the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
Marshall, a former senior police officer in the UK, headed ICC鈥檚 anti-corruption unit for seven years before retiring last year. Under him, ICC imposed bans on cricketers like former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan and former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak.
The BCB thought to enhance their anti-corruption unit and, as a result, roped in Marshall.
鈥榃e have faced this [shortcomings in our ACU unit] in the BPL and domestic cricket in the last couple of years. So after getting the advice from our president [Aminul Islam] and [Nazmul Abedeen] Fahim bhai, we appointed this gentleman, Alex Marshall, as a consultant.鈥� Iftekhar Rahman, chairman of BCB鈥檚 media committee, told the reporters.
鈥榃e also feel that our current ACU needs more training. We are getting more and more complaints, and so we cannot just sit and watch. An experienced guy will build the team and enhance it,鈥� he added.
Iftekhar also said that the anti-corruption unit of the ICC would oversee the next edition of the BPL.
In recent times, there were several investigations related to corruption in the BPL as well as in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League.
Meanwhile, it would be a second coming of Hemming, who has an enriched profile in the making of cricket pitches and sports turf.
The Australian, who previously worked for the ICC and Cricket Australia, was in Bangladesh between July 2023 and July 2024 before joining the Pakistan Cricket Board.
The experienced consultant wasn鈥檛 particularly pleased with the progression of the BCB and eventually left the job.
Fahim stated that their dissatisfaction over the wickets prompted them to bring Hemming back.
The wickets, especially in Mirpur, are often dubbed unsporting, especially for T20 cricket. In fact, it is the lowest-scoring ground among the full-member ICC nations where at least a certain number of matches have been played.
鈥楾o be honest, we faced it for a long time. Then after visiting Pakistan, I got the opportunity to see Tony Hemming鈥檚 works,鈥� said Fahim.
鈥楧espite hosting the PSL and other tournaments, the wickets were nice even in the later part. I was surprised to see that. We often give excuses that our wickets aren鈥檛 good, as there are a lot of games,鈥� he added.
Fahim also stated that a better quality of wicket could have been a game-changer for them.
鈥楿ltimately a good wicket is more important than a good coach or trainer. We couldn鈥檛 do that [produce good wickets]. Hopefully it will be done in the future,鈥� he said.
Apart from wickets, the batting approach of Bangladesh in T20s has been often under heavy criticism.
Now the BCB roped in Wood, a former English cricketer who previously worked in the IPL and the BPL.
It was initially reported that Wood would conduct a three-week camp ahead of the Asia Cup. But he has been appointed as the specialist batting coach for three months.
Meanwhile, the BCB also introduced the Mymensingh Division as the newest first-class team. They will replace Dhaka Metro in the next season.
However, Mymensingh won鈥檛 take part in the upcoming NCL T20, as the fixtures have already been drafted.